ead. "I was waiting for a few phone bets to come in,
first," he said.

"How many come in so far?" Mort asked.

Mike suddenly looked at his wrist watch and swore. "None!" he
exclaimed. "None and it's already after ten!"

Mort looked alarmed. "You mean the phone ain't rang with a bet since
you been down?"

"Only time the phone rung was with that practical joker, twicet. You
heard 'em," Mike declared.

"But by this time we generally have a couple dozen bets in from the
phones!" Mort exclaimed. "This is bad. Whatcha think goes?"

"Goes?" Mike exclaimed indignantly. "How should I know what goes?"

Mort suddenly clapped his palm to his brow. "Maybe it's got somethin'
to do with that news story!"

"About the State's Attorney gonna check the phone lists?" Mike
demanded.

"Yeah."

Mike thought this over. "No," he decided. "Couldn't be. Not so soon,
yet. Tomorrow, maybe, but not so soon."

Mort calmed down a little. "You're right there," he said. "It wouldn't
be so soon."

"Maybe this is a bad day," I broke in. "Maybe your customers just
aren't betting this morning."

Mort and Mike looked at me as if I were crazy, which possibly I was.
Two dozen steady horse players don't all stop at once, if ever.

Mike was as sorely troubled as Mort.

"We got at least couple dozen bets acrosst the counter already this
morning," he said. "But no phone bets."

"Maybe the damn thing is _actually_ out of order," Mort groaned,
glancing at the telephone.

"Then how did we get them two calls from the joker?" Mike demanded.
"No. That phone ain't no more outta order than I am."

"You're right. I forgot those calls," Mort acknowledged.

* * * * *

And at that moment the telephone rang again. Mort looked at Mike. Mike
looked at Mort. Both wet their lips.

"Ordinary days that joker might be funny," Mort said. "But now I'm
thinking this isn't an ordinary day. I'm thinking it's not as funny as
I first thought."

He crossed to the telephone booth, jerked the receiver from the hook,
and bellowed into the mouthpiece.

"Hello!"

There was a brief pause in which someone said something to him from
the other end of the wire.

"Listen!" Mort suddenly exploded. "Nothing is funny three times, wise
guy. I wish you would take your Hitler-Mussolini gag and--" at which
point he described what he wanted the caller to do with the gag. Then,
slamming the receiver back into the hook, Mort stormed out of the
bo